Chapter 181: Boarding the Ship, Madam?

The Red and White Twin Blades retracted into the permanent armory of the Titan Colonization Armor. This was a custom feature Li Yu had rigged up after letting the armor devour several pieces of compressed space technology.

It housed the Red and White Twin Blades, the Cursed Arrow, and a massive cache of ammunition. Currently, the Titan Colonization Armor had yet to unlock the ability to self-replicate specialized materials.

With the boundless energy reservoir of the Power of the Cube, energy ammunition was naturally never a concern. Specialized ammunition, however, still had to be purchased externally.

To maximize seating capacity, the travel ship's aisles had been designed to be incredibly narrow. Now, they were clogged with the corpses of numerous Marauders, their crimson blood pooling endlessly on the floor.

Because the Red and White Twin Blades had pierced straight through their bodies and forcibly retracted, the wounds left behind were a mess of irregular, devastating carnage.

Furthermore, Claptrap always aimed for one-hit kills. Its hyper-precise trajectory calculations had perfectly pierced every single Marauder's heart, causing their blood to flow out in a relentless stream.

In just a few moments, a thin layer of blood blanketed the floor of the cabin.

An interstellar traveler raised his hands, staring blankly at the thick, sticky blood dripping from his fingers, finally realizing that this was not a nightmare.

The wide, unblinking eyes of the dead Marauders stared vacantly from twisted necks, seemingly glaring at the surrounding passengers.

Li Yu paid little attention to their reactions. Back when he roamed the Junkyard, he had crushed more gray-skinned lizards underfoot than he could ever count.

"Is she alright?" Li Yu asked, casting a glance at the trembling little loli, Keller. Her eyes were blood-red, completely different from Mo Duo's.

If Mo Duo's eyes resembled polished amber, then Keller's were pools of fresh blood. Two sharp fangs protruded from her gums, resembling canine teeth, but far longer and much more menacing.

The bloody aura rolling off her body did not carry any lethal power—at best, it might serve to chill the room. Keller seemed to have lost her mind, her tiny face scrunched up in a fierce, feral snarl.

"S-She is fine," Sinai stammered, frantically shaking her head and replying in a timid whisper.

Despite the consecutive shocks, she barely managed to cling to her sanity, avoiding the fate of the nearby interstellar travelers who were already giggling hysterically and writhing in the pooling blood.

It was evident that she was on extremely high alert, acting as a protective shield for little Keller by hiding the girl behind her.

"Her state is highly abnormal. It is as if she switched personalities, and this new one is extremely sadistic," Mo Duo murmured into Li Yu's ear. She had put on colored contact lenses, shifting her striking Blazing Eye into a perfectly ordinary shade of black.

"A descendant of the Grand Duke of Blood..." The back-to-back intense battles had failed to catch Peyton's attention, but this little loli completely drew his gaze.

He stood up from his spot by the porthole and slowly walked over. Ignoring Sinai's terrified stare, he bent over and locked his eyes onto Keller.

"Indeed, it is a juvenile form. I just do not know which generation..." Peyton reached out, looking as though he wanted to pry open the little loli's jaw to inspect her fangs.

Sinai wanted to stop this creep, but a quick glance at Li Yu paralyzed her with fear. After all, this was a group that had just effortlessly wiped out an entire crew of Marauders.

"Do not touch my mother!" Keller shrieked again. Li Yu suddenly felt his blood circulation accelerate, his heart skipping several rapid beats before his body's robust constitution automatically suppressed the anomaly.

However, the heads of a few nearby interstellar travelers instantly exploded. Just like the Marauder from before, red and white matter sprayed everywhere as blood erupted like gruesome fountains.

Seeing the situation take a deadly turn, Mo Duo and Hunter immediately retreated several meters. Their physical constitutions were strong enough that their blood did not violently rupture their heads.

Peyton's face flushed a deep red, engorged with blood to its absolute limit, yet his tone remained eerily calm. Clutching his chest, he whispered:

"Just as the records dictate, the Grand Duke of Blood possesses the power to manipulate the blood of living organisms."

"You must be from the Mil System, correct? Seven years ago, a Blood Earl infiltrated the Mil System, inciting a horrifying cataclysm—the Blood Tide Event."

"Across the seven life planets in the Mil System, billions perished. The survivors numbered only in the tens of millions."

Watching Sinai's expression twist in growing horror, Li Yu realized that Peyton was speaking the truth.

"That is enough. Getting a word out of you is usually like pulling teeth, but now you just will not shut up," Li Yu muttered, dragging Peyton aside and stepping in front of the mother and daughter.

Under Li Yu's towering gaze, Sinai trembled violently. She instinctively spread her arms wide to shield Keller behind her back. Tears welled up in her eyes, yet she forced herself to remain composed as she explained:

"She did not do it on purpose... She cannot control it..."

The physics-defying heave of her chest made Sinai's formidable curves all the more eye-catching.

"I said, do not touch my mother!" the little loli barked in a childish voice, her eyes radiating a bewitching, bloody glow.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The heads of several interstellar travelers cowering under their seats exploded once again.

Instantly, the other interstellar travelers who had noticed the commotion wore expressions of sheer terror. They clamped their hands over their mouths, desperately trying to stifle any sound.

"Get back in there!" Li Yu commanded sharply. He spat out bizarre syllables, utilizing The Voice against Keller's current personality.

Keller shuddered. Clarity slowly returned to her gaze, the bloody luminescence fading away. Her sharp fangs retracted, and the rolling waves of crimson aura surrounding her completely dissipated.

"Mother... what happened?" Keller asked in a sweet, confused, and milky voice. She stared at the terrified expressions of the surrounding interstellar travelers, wondering why they were all glaring at her like that.

"It is nothing... Everything is alright..." Sinai finally broke down. Massive teardrops spilled down her cheeks as she spun around and pulled Keller into a desperate embrace, repeatedly mumbling that everything was fine.

"Uh..." Li Yu wore a peculiar expression. "Miss..."

He paused, seemingly considering the proper form of address, before continuing. "Madam, you should probably let her breathe."

Sinai awoke as if from a dream and hurriedly released her grip. The little loli's face was already flushing bright red. Panting heavily, she shot her mother a resentful glance and quietly grumbled:

"You do this every time..."

Sinai's ears flushed a delicate pink. She subtly pulled her chest back, hoping to draw less attention to herself, but unfortunately, the effort was entirely in vain. Some people were simply born winners.

"A demon, she is a demon!" An interstellar traveler in the corner suddenly leapt to his feet and pointed an accusing finger at Keller. She was a member of the Qiuli People, her head covered in an exoskeleton formed from clusters of small bumps.

Glaring furiously as if witnessing the most heinous of crimes, she shrieked, "Blood-red eyes, razor-sharp fangs, and a bloodthirsty nature! That is a demon!"

"Does not the Star Glory Empire prohibit Belief Culture?" Li Yu asked, turning to Peyton in confusion.

Peyton kept his eyes locked on Keller and casually explained, "Some planets maintain their own local Belief Cultures. As long as no actual divine spirit claims the domain, the empire turns a blind eye."

"Mother, is she talking about me?" Keller pouted, visibly perplexed.

Sinai pressed her lips together, unsure of how to answer. Right at that moment... a large boot flew out from an angle, ruthlessly kicking the accuser away.

"Pah! Where was all this bravery when we were fighting the Marauders?" Dave scolded with self-righteous fury.

Still sporting a massive boot print on his own face, he trotted over with a sycophantic smile. "Thank you for your assistance. You saved all of our lives, and we will keep your kindness in our hearts forever."

Dave had actually woken up quite a while ago, but because he could not figure out Li Yu's background, he had kept his head down.

However, when someone suddenly stepped out of line to hurl accusations at Keller, Dave could no longer stand by idly.

Even though he did not know the exact relationship between the group, it was glaringly obvious that the little girl was anything but simple. For the safety of the entire ship, Dave had no choice but to dropkick the idiot who was spewing nonsense.

It was a necessary move to avoid provoking this terrifying group.

"So you will only remember my kindness in your hearts, will you?" Li Yu remarked with a cryptic smile.

"Well..." Dave instantly broke out into a cold sweat, forcing a weak smile. "Whatever else you might need, I will absolutely do my best to provide."

Li Yu stared at him, remaining silent for a long time. The anxiety in Dave's heart grew more intense by the second.

"Haha..." Li Yu suddenly burst into laughter, nearly scaring Dave into collapsing onto his rear.

Li Yu patted his shoulder. "Relax, I am a good person. I will not bring harm to innocent travelers."

"Understood... Understood..." Dave nodded like a madman. Pointing at the unfortunate souls whose heads had just been accidentally popped by Keller, he stated decisively, "They were all murdered by the Marauders. Do not worry, I will report the situation properly so the company can provide their families with reasonable compensation."

Did this guy misunderstand something? Li Yu was rendered somewhat speechless. He had purely meant that he had no intention of terrorizing the innocent travelers.

Keller was the one who killed those people, not him.

He could not be bothered to explain, so he simply ordered, "Open up the ship's storage hard drive. I need to delete the surveillance footage."

Deleting the footage was essential to prevent their identities from leaking. Without hard evidence, the verbal testimonies of a bunch of terrified interstellar travelers meant absolutely nothing.

After permanently erasing the logs, he had Claptrap scan the travelers' smart terminals, checking if any foolhardy individual had recklessly recorded the ordeal.

Fortunately, the Marauders had already confiscated all the interstellar travelers' smart terminals earlier, which saved Li Yu a lot of trouble.

Dave was naturally incredibly cooperative. He prayed that this group would vanish entirely from the official records, meaning the merit for annihilating the Marauders would fall squarely onto his lap.

Conning these travelers would be far simpler; it would hardly take any effort at all.

After unsealing Li Ping, the man looked deeply ashamed. "I am sorry..."

"You already did very well," Li Yu said encouragingly. A subordinate needed plenty of positive reinforcement.

Elephant Forest remained ignored in the corner. He had tied himself up so thoroughly that he could not break free. Yet, even bound, he stared at Li Yu with eyes full of utter reverence.

A B-Tier Lifeform! To think that he had actually managed to fight side-by-side with a B-Tier Lifeform. This was something he could brag about for the rest of his life.

The group prepared to transfer over to the Marauder warship. The Blazing Eye Star was strictly under military jurisdiction; a standard travel ship would never be permitted to approach, let alone dock.

Therefore, they absolutely needed their own spaceship to reach the Blazing Eye Star.

Unfortunately, their previous spaceship had been blown to pieces back at the Inuit Hub.

Under normal circumstances, the money in Li Yu's pockets would have only been enough to afford a piece of junk secondhand ship, which was why he had held off on replacing it for the time being.

As for the original ship they used, it had long since been flagged by the Star Glory Empire.

Since the Mimetic Disguise could never fool the security scanners at major docking ports, Li Yu had never planned on flying that meaty monstrosity out of the Inuit Hub anyway.

Still, it was quite a pity that it had been blown up by Boiling Blood. He could have at least sold it to recoup some of his losses.

'Oh right... I didn't even pay for it to begin with. Then it's fine.'

Sinai sat on her seat holding Keller, entirely on pins and needles. The hostile glares from the surrounding interstellar travelers made her extremely uneasy.

Once Li Yu and his group left, the tightly wound nerves of these travelers would completely snap, and there was no telling what they might do in retaliation.

The Marauders had not killed a single interstellar traveler, yet Keller had popped six heads on her own. That was more than enough reason for them to be viewed as the ultimate enemies.

Even though they would not actually be in any danger thanks to Keller's terrifying power, Sinai did not want her daughter to continue indiscriminately killing the innocent.

Furthermore, if they returned to the Star Glory Empire and Keller's identity was exposed, she dreaded the unimaginable consequences it would trigger.

Seeing that Li Yu's group was about to leave, Sinai could no longer hold back. "Wait a moment, please..." she called out, quickly standing up.

Peyton was the first to halt his steps. He turned around, staring at Sinai... or rather, at the Keller hiding behind her, a faint glimmer shining in his eyes.

"What is it, madam?" Li Yu asked with a hint of confusion.

"I beg of you, take us with you..." Sinai pleaded, her heart a tangled mess of complex emotions. She truly did not know if this choice was a brilliant escape or a terrible mistake.

"Oh?" Hunter had barely entertained the thought of watching a good show unfold before he suddenly felt a chill creep over his surroundings, and his consciousness immediately vanished.

"Why?" Hunter questioned out of nowhere. His head was lowered, his cowboy hat shadowing his expression. He immediately pointed at Li Yu. "Is it because he saved you?"

"Huh?" Li Yu looked completely baffled. 'What a bizarre leap in logic. What does this have to do with me?'

Sinai was also momentarily confused, but she sensed that this was a profoundly critical question. After pondering for a brief moment, she simply shook her head. Before she could offer any explanation, someone else spoke up for her.

"It is because of her identity," Peyton interjected, his eyes glued to Keller.

Sinai nodded in silence. Hunter spaced out for a split second, looking left and right, then glanced down at the time. Since the duration of the mind control was so fleeting, the change in time was completely unnoticeable.

'Huh... was I just mind-controlled again? It feels like I wasn't, but also like I was...'

Hunter felt an urgent need to have a serious chat with Mo Duo. If this kept happening, he was genuinely going to develop some kind of psychological trauma.

Hearing Peyton's explanation, Mo Duo cursed under her breath. What nonsense had she been imagining? Sensing Li Yu's gaze resting on her, she haughtily whipped her head the other way.

"What are your thoughts on this?" Li Yu asked, shaking his head inwardly.

"I agree," Peyton immediately declared. His eyes were burning with a fervent, fanatical light. 'I really want to study her. I want to study her so badly.'

Keller shrank back in fear. That strange uncle's gaze was far too terrifying.

Perhaps terrified that Li Yu might refuse, Peyton hastily added, "The descendants of the Grand Duke of Blood have a rather unique reproduction method. They do not conceive through standard biological mating."

Sinai's pretty face blushed crimson, and she suddenly looked entirely out of her depth. Anyone would feel embarrassed having such a deeply personal matter broadcasted in public.

"Why would you bring this up out of nowhere?" Li Yu understood what Peyton meant, but he had no clue why Peyton felt the need to mention it at this specific moment.

Peyton considerately explained, "Because many species, particularly Interstellar Humans, cannot tolerate females in their inner circle who have engaged in prior biological reproduction. I wanted to preemptively stop you from rejecting them on those grounds, so..."

"Cough, cough... you can shut up now," Li Yu interrupted with a forced cough, his mouth twitching slightly.

"What about you?" he asked, turning toward Mo Duo.

"I do not care," Mo Duo replied with a casual, indifferent attitude.

"Hehe..." Hunter suddenly let out a lecherous chuckle, winking and wiggling his eyebrows at Li Yu. There was absolutely no need to pay any attention to this old bastard.

"You really want them to leave with us?" Li Yu asked, locking eyes with Peyton.

"Yes," Peyton nodded. "If we bring them, I probably won't be looking for ways to get myself killed for a very long time."

"That sounds pretty good," Li Yu mused. Peyton's suicidal tendencies were a massive headache. If taking them along bought him some peace and quiet, it was well worth it.

"Since that is the case, the two of you will leave with us," Li Yu declared to Sinai.

Sinai did not look particularly thrilled. She cast a deeply conflicted glance at the creepily enthusiastic Peyton. 'I didn't make a mistake here, did I... Probably not...'